OSP seizes $29,000 during traffic stop for speeding

Two California men face money-laundering charges for allegedly traveling to Oregon with eight grams of marijuana and $29,000 in cash in a duffel bag just north of the California border.

Jerrell Hicks, 23, of Marysville, California, and Carlos Clavel, 28, of Richmond, California, were arrested June 26 on northbound Interstate 5 just past milepost 4 after Oregon State Police troopers stopped them for speeding and smelled marijuana inside the vehicle.

Hicks, who was driving the SUV, handed the officer a small glass jar of weed when the trooper asked about the odor, according to an affidavit. When police later searched the car, they found $29,000 separated in seven bundles held together with rubber bands.

Both men were charged with laundering a monetary instrument and received bail of $3,000. Neither man has a previous criminal record in Oregon. A preliminary court hearing was set for July 28.